[SOLVED] I'm looking for a new GPU with $250 budget limit ?

[Hospital for souls]

hello toms im looking forward ugrading my gpu i need your help

these are my specs
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
PSU 500W
CPU
Intel Core i3 8100 @ 3.60GHz 46 °C
Coffee Lake 14nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1199MHz (18-18-18-43)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. H110M-S2PT-CF (U3E1) 49 °C
Graphics
S19C150 (1366x768@60Hz)
2048MB ATI AMD Radeon R7 200 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner) 62 °C
Storage
119GB P3-128 (SATA (SSD)) 33 °C
931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZRX-00A8LB0 (SATA ) 41 °C
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[bccorrupt]

MSRP on a 5500XT or GTX 1650 super are right around that, but good luck getting one at MSRP that's in stock.

 

[Hospital for souls]

MSRP on a 5500XT or GTX 1650 super are right around that, but good luck getting one at MSRP that's in stock.

does my motherboard support specific gpus?

 

[Pc6777]

You can get a used 1050 ti for under 200 on eBay, maybe you could get an RX 580 8 gb for close to 250.

 

[bccorrupt]

With GPUs there isn't really any issue with compatibility anymore. It's possible you might need to update the bios, but very unlikely. You just need to make sure you pick something that the power supply can handle.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I would say about the best gpu for that money right now is a used gtx 970. It should be in the performance bracket of an rx 570,or gtx 1060, or if looking at current cards it’s about equal or maybe a little better than a gtx 1650.

To be clear I know these cards are 6 years old at this point. I had a gtx 1660 super that I bought at retail in early 2020 before the lockdowns, but ended up selling it for nearly 500. I bought a gtx 970 to replace it so I could use my system and that’s what’s in there now. I paid at the time $175.00

If you look on eBay though, there are some gtx 980s on there for about 250, just over with shipping. Those are probably closer to say an extra 580, or maybe a 1060 6gb. I’m guessing here.

Definitely look around but even a gtx 1060 6gb is 300 bucks buy it now on eBay. The 3gb versions are over 200. So I think I’d look hard at the old 900 series cards or maybe even an rx 290 or 390.

Especially if you buy a gpu of those ages, be VERY careful to read the description and check feedback. I would probably go through eBay since they have a buyer protection. So if you bought a card that didn’t work, you might be able to open a case with eBay and get back your money. Be prepared that you may need or want to apply new thermal paste to one of those cards if they run to warm.

I think for the 970 500 watt power supply was recommended. For a 980 I’m not sure. But you may want to upgrade your power supply so that you are ready when gpu prices drop eventually. Still wild that the 970 from 6-7 years ago is basically an entry level card today.

 

[David0ne86]

Is the upgrade REALLY necessary (ie gpu broke down and you cannot use your pc) or you just wanna upgrade? Because if it's the latter, don't. Just keep save money. As of today, there's really no good option to recommend for a sub 200 dollars/eu gpu. All the recommendation they've done are correct, but you'd end up spending an overpriced amount for 2 generations (the 900 series even 3) cards. Not really a good deal imo.

 

[Hospital for souls]

I would say about the best gpu for that money right now is a used gtx 970. It should be in the performance bracket of an rx 570,or gtx 1060, or if looking at current cards it’s about equal or maybe a little better than a gtx 1650.

To be clear I know these cards are 6 years old at this point. I had a gtx 1660 super that I bought at retail in early 2020 before the lockdowns, but ended up selling it for nearly 500. I bought a gtx 970 to replace it so I could use my system and that’s what’s in there now. I paid at the time $175.00

If you look on eBay though, there are some gtx 980s on there for about 250, just over with shipping. Those are probably closer to say an extra 580, or maybe a 1060 6gb. I’m guessing here.

Definitely look around but even a gtx 1060 6gb is 300 bucks buy it now on eBay. The 3gb versions are over 200. So I think I’d look hard at the old 900 series cards or maybe even an rx 290 or 390.

Especially if you buy a gpu of those ages, be VERY careful to read the description and check feedback. I would probably go through eBay since they have a buyer protection. So if you bought a card that didn’t work, you might be able to open a case with eBay and get back your money. Be prepared that you may need or want to apply new thermal paste to one of those cards if they run to warm.

I think for the 970 500 watt power supply was recommended. For a 980 I’m not sure. But you may want to upgrade your power supply so that you are ready when gpu prices drop eventually. Still wild that the 970 from 6-7 years ago is basically an entry level card today.

thanks a lot you pretty much answered all the questions i had in mind so i shoudl also upgrade my psu

 

[Hospital for souls]

Is the upgrade REALLY necessary (ie gpu broke down and you cannot use your pc) or you just wanna upgrade? Because if it's the latter, don't. Just keep save money. As of today, there's really no good option to recommend for a sub 200 dollars/eu gpu. All the recommendation they've done are correct, but you'd end up spending an overpriced amount for 2 generations (the 900 series even 3) cards. Not really a good deal imo.

thanks for your answer and yeah i coudl wait my gpu is running fine im just getting tired of the bad performance

 

[Hospital for souls]

With GPUs there isn't really any issue with compatibility anymore. It's possible you might need to update the bios, but very unlikely. You just need to make sure you pick something that the power supply can handle.

so i shoudl upgrade my psu also

 

[DSzymborski]

so i shoudl upgrade my psu also

Hard to say. What is the exact PSU you currently have? "500W" doesn't tell us much.

 

[bccorrupt]

Actually just since I posted a week ago the scalpers on ebay have dropped their prices on sealed, new regular GTX 1650s from $400 to $300 and I'm seeing gtx 970s on fb marketplace local for $150. If you're impatient those are both good deals compared to previous prices, but if you can hold out just a little longer I think prices will come down more.

Personally I'm gonna hold out just a bit longer for a 1650 super or 1660 which is about all my current CPU will match well with.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

If you can hold out for a 1660 super that’s about 1070 performance.